Bhatta residents on Saturday celebrated with sweets Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s announcement a day earlier that cases against the farmers here would be withdrawn.

Bhatta residents on Saturday celebrated with sweets Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s announcement a day earlier that cases against the farmers here would be withdrawn.

Some farmers were seen at the office of the superintendent of police, inquiring about any communication from the state government directing the cops to withdraw the cases.

Nutan Tevatia, the wife of arrested farmer leader Manvir Tevatia on Saturday, said, “My husband is in jail since July 9 last year. His fault was that he was fighting for the farmers. He was implicated in false cases.”

“The chief minister’s announcement has given us hope that he and the other arrested farmers will be released soon,” she added.

Dharamvir Singh, a teacher whose two sons were injured in clash, said, “The chief minister’s announcement has given confidence to farmers here that the Samajwadi Party government will withdraw cases as promised before elections.”

Since January 17 last year, Tevatia had been holding demonstrations at Bhatta. It was alleged that he and his men had kidnapped government officers. On May 7 last year, in a police-farmer clash, two policemen and two farmers were killed. The then DM, Deepak Aggarwal, too, had suffered bullet injuries and was hospitalised.

Later, the police had arrested several farmers. Nine farmers, including Tevatia, are in jail. The administration had claimed that they had spreaheaded the protests against the state.